The official state nickname is “The First State,” but you could refer to it as little Las Vegas. When it comes to gambling expansion, including online gambling, Delaware is tough to beat.

• Online Sports Betting Delaware Park
• Online Sports Betting Delaware
• Online Sports Betting Reviews
• Online Sports Betting Delaware Lottery
• Online Sports Betting In Delaware
• Delaware Football Betting

Online Sports Betting Is Legal In DE But Not Yet Regulated On June 5, 2018, Delaware became the first state to legalize sports betting after the Supreme Court lifted the federal ban that had previously prevented states from allowing sportsbooks to operate within their jurisdiction, excluding Nevada, who was fully exempt from the federal law.

1. The delay in offering legislative details for online sports betting in Delaware also plays a role in it being pushed out of the sports betting spotlight. It’s expected that mobile and online wagering will dominate the sports betting industry in the United States.
2. The only states close to Delaware offering online sports betting are Pennsylvania and New Jersey. So, if you take a drive up across the PA or NJ border, you can place bets on a variety of sports through apps like FanDuel, DraftKings, FoxBet, and more.

DE is a trend setter as it was the first state to offer a regulated and legalized program for real money gambling online. The best Delaware online gambling sites offer a variety of betting and gaming options.

Our typical gambling guides for American states pale in comparison to Delaware.

Even in the 18^th and 19^th centuries, lotteries helped to provide financial resources for infrastructure. Fast forward to the past few decades, and the state is benefitting from the lottery, three land-based casinos, and more.

Each of the three land-based casinos has corresponding websites open for in-state play. Daily fantasy sports also joined the virtual DE gambling community just a few years ago. There are also out of state operators providing real money online gambling to Delaware.

It may be the second smallest state in the US, but legal gambling and online gambling in Delaware is big business.

There are two types of real money online gambling sites available to DE residents. You’ve got the casinos and poker rooms that are owned and operated by the three in-state casinos. Then, other Delaware online gambling sites are regulated outside of the area, even though they accept Delawareans.

While you’ll find overlap in many of the gaming opportunities, the one difference is that online sports betting is possible with an out-of-state site.

Our job is to bring you the best of Delaware online gambling, and we’ve got a team of experts working together to rate and rank each provider.

The primary objective is to compile a list of online casinos, sportsbooks, and poker rooms with virtual doors open to Delaware players. However, to earn a recommendation, any real money gambling site must be fair, safe, and secure.

Ranking the Top Gambling Sites for DE

As we just mentioned, it’s not enough to just give you names of the top gambling sites for Delaware. Each one must comply with a long list of criteria, with safety and security at the top.

Every site is thoroughly evaluated before it’s included in our rankings. We post all of our comprehensive reviews, so you have access to more detailed information. But we use our overall findings to compare and contrast all of the Delaware online gambling sites to determine which will make the cut.

While it’s necessary for a site to actually accept Delaware-based players, it’s equally as vital that it properly accommodates the location. That means that payment options must coincide with US availability.

Many European-facing gambling sites have long financial menus that include e-wallets and other methods inaccessible to Americans. So, the top gambling sites for DE must allow for debit and credit cards, as well as global alternatives like cryptocurrency.

You’ll find that our recommended sites for real money gambling online in Delaware each allow for Bitcoin, at a minimum. Some may even go as far as Ethereum, Bitcoin Lite, and Ripple.

Cryptocurrency is the easiest way to transfer money in and out of online gambling websites. It’s private, fast, and free. You may need to wait a few minutes longer than cards for your deposit to process, but Bitcoin payouts are much quicker.

In addition to the financial selections, we also take a look at bonuses, and welcome offers, in particular.

Not everyone wants in on a promotional incentive. But some players select one gambling site over another based solely on the generosity of deposit matches or on-going loyalty programs.

Of course, a review of the betting and gaming options is also part of the process. We look at the quantity, quality, and variety.

Slot games will always be the most plentiful, but we look through the virtual banks to see if there are progressive jackpot version or if new releases come out regularly. We also consider the variety of other games.

Table games are played primarily one-on-one against the computer. But some Delaware online gambling sites also include a live casino. That’s the area you’d choose if you prefer an actual dealer running the table.

The range of sports and events covered, and the wagers available, is another key consideration. Along with the inclusion of a poker room, and any other type of real money gambling.

Note that we have some additional recommendations for DE gambling sites if you’re looking for something specific.

Games, betting options, banking, and promotions are the most obvious thins to look for when ranking the best Delaware gambling sites, but our process goes beyond those services.

We also take a look at customer service, player reviews, and feedback, and our overall internal impressions to compile the ratings necessary for our rankings and recommendations.

Regulated Delaware Online Gambling

As a Delawarean, you’re probably very familiar with all of the gambling alternatives that you can turn to when you want to place a bet. But online gambling isn’t as straightforward as it’s not in the news as much, nor are you driving past it.

Regulated online gambling in Delaware came as part of a natural progression. The First State has consistently evolved with additional gambling opportunities for residents, and even more so over the past few decades.

The state lottery provided a substantial source of revenue needed to build Delaware in its early days. Then in the 1930s, pari-mutuel betting came on the scene. Delaware Park racetrack was unveiled in 1933 and it’s still going strong. It’s expanded to be one of the three casinos in the small state, along with Dover Downs and Harrington Raceway and Casino.

Charitable bingo was next up in the ‘50s, but the gambling climate was relatively quiet again until the 1970s when the lottery re-emerged. Racinos followed a few decades later and evolved into full-blown Vegas-style casinos.

More recently, the racetracks turned casinos made one more big leap into the expanded betting waters. In 2021, DE became the first state in the US to legalize online gambling. New Delaware gambling laws opened the virtual door for the three casinos. Each now has an online casino, as well as land-based operations.

More Delaware online gambling expansion came in 2017 with the approval of daily fantasy sports. Additionally, the state joined forces with Nevada, followed by New Jersey, to turn out a shared poker website. Residents within those three jurisdictions can play poker together on a fully legal and three-state-regulated betting site.

The only thing that’s missing, as far as websites that operate from within state lines, is an online sportsbook. Although, that could be next on the list, as the casinos have in-house books, so going mobile with them would be another source of revenue.

Aside from the in-state operations, Delawareans can also register accounts on a variety of online casinos, sportsbooks, and poker rooms. The list isn’t as long as you’d find in other countries, but there are still quite a few Delaware online gambling sites, so players have options.

• Casinos – legal
• Sports Betting – legal
• Pari-Mutuel – legal
• Poker – legal
• Daily Fantasy Sports – legal
• Lottery – legal
• Bingo – legal, but charity bingo only
• Online Gambling – legal

As you can imagine, there are benefits to Delaware online gambling. If there weren’t, this many people wouldn’t be participating and the state wouldn’t have approved it.

Here are some of the main ones.

If you enjoy heading to the casino for the social aspect of it, then it may not be quite as appealing to you. But if you like the games or consider them to be hobbies, then you’ve probably started looking for some of the best online gambling sites for Delaware residents.

The convenience of virtual real money gambling is, without a doubt, one of the top reasons why it’s popular.

Online gambling in Delaware, or anywhere in the world, gives you a measure of privacy. You can play what you want, and bet on what you want, without anyone watching. If you don’t want to disclose banking information, you can use cryptocurrency to fund your account.

For some people, it’s not possible to head to the casino, even if it’s nearby. There are players with breathing issues that need to stay away from the smoke-filled rooms for which casinos are known. Or others may have mobility problems or other health issues that prevent them from visiting Delaware Park, Dover Downs, or Harrington.

Another motivation for playing online may simply be the time factor. You can be placing your sports wagers or spinning the reels on your favorite slot in seconds, without making a trip. If you have children, you don’t need a babysitter. Or, if your work schedule is heavy and you can’t spare a few hours, you can play for as short or as long of a time as you choose.

Today’s real money gambling sites in Delaware and beyond also consider mobile play. So, if you’re sitting in a waiting room for an hour, you can pick up your smartphone and make a sports bet or play another game. Even live dealer tables are now customized for smaller screens.

While betting and gaming on the web may still a foreign concept to many, online gambling in Delaware has been recognized for a few years.

Residents of the First State have an entire list of sites to access when it comes to casino games, sports betting, and poker room play. The few in-state gambling sites have poker and casino gaming, but sportsbooks are still up in the air. However, offshore providers welcome DE players with plenty of banking options, bonuses, and the top games and matches.

Even though you may have plenty of options at your disposal, be sure to select from the BEST Delaware online gambling sites. When you’re risking real money, you want to be sure that you’re choosing a reputable, reliable, and fair site like the ones on our recommended list.

Delaware Casino and Racetrack Sportsbook Operators

General Summary of Sports Betting in Delaware

When it comes to sports betting, Delaware is The Little State That Could. Delaware is not the biggest, most influential sports betting state, nor is it a place anybody would mistake for Las Vegas, Nevada.

Yet there was Delaware taking sports wagers on June 5, 2018, before any other state outside Nevada. Yes, even before New Jersey, the state responsible for convincing the Supreme Court of the United States to strike down the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act, better know as PASPA.

Online Sports Betting Delaware Park

It’s not all rose-colored glasses for Delaware, though. Despite winning the race to the sports betting market, once states like New Jersey and West Virginia joined the fray, Delaware was quickly pushed to the bottom of the sports betting food chain.

It doesn’t help Delaware’s position that it only has three casinos allowed to offer sports betting: Delaware Park, Dover Downs and Harrington. The delay in offering legislative details for online sports betting in Delaware also plays a role in it being pushed out of the sports betting spotlight. It’s expected that mobile and online wagering will dominate the sports betting industry in the United States.

Still, we encourage you to watch this space for more Delaware sports betting content from RotoGrinders, including information about the launch of online sports betting in Delaware. We’re proud to be your expert on all things sports betting in Delaware!

Delaware Sports Betting Legislative Landscape

You can get a full glimpse of the state of the sports betting legislative landscape in Delaware by reading its Sports Lottery Rules and Regulations here.

What follows is a brief look at Delaware’s legislative landscape as it pertains to sports betting:

• Sports betting is fully legalized and regulated in the facilities of Delaware Lottery licensees (land-based casinos and racetracks)
• Mobile and digital wagering is not yet regulated by the state of Delaware
• Wagers are expected to accepted on all professional sports, and most college sporting events
• Tax rates/fees for Delaware sports betting as per the regulations:
  • 50% tax on gross sports gambling revenue
  • 10% to Delaware horsemen for track purposes
  • .25% federal excise tax on handle

Delaware’s Sports Betting History

Unlike most other states during the time of PASPA, Delaware actually had something in common with Nevada: it had a form of sports betting grandfathered in.

At the time PASPA was passed in 1992, Nevada was the only state that offered a full suite of sports betting, including wagers on single games. While it didn’t have betting on the same scale, Delaware offered parlays of three or more NFL games, and as such had been the only other state to offer a legal form of sports betting in the US.

Another interesting fact about sports betting in Delaware is that in 2009, the state passed a bill that expanded sports betting to include single game wagers. Then Governor Jack Markell signed the bill into law, but toon after, Delaware lost a suit to major professional sports leagues that claimed the new bill and its regulations fell outside the scope of PASPA, and was thus illegal.

Despite losing the case, the 2009 bill was never formally repealed, which is significant because it positioned Delaware to implement sports betting quickly if PASPA were ever struck down.

As fate would have it, New Jersey took up the fight and in 2018, the Supreme Court ruled that PASPA was unconstitutional. With the previous bill sitting in wait, Governor John Carney was able to lead Delaware to its watershed moment on June 5, 2018, when it became the first state outside of Nevada to legalize sports betting.

Carney placed the first official single game sports bet in Delaware – a $10 wager on the Philadelphia Phillies to beat the Chicago Cubs. The Phillies won 6-1, making Carney a winner.

Delaware Sports Betting FAQs

Online Sports Betting Delaware

When did it become legal to bet on sports in Delaware?

Delaware has featured 3+ NFL game parlays for years, but full-scale sports betting became legal in Delaware on June 5, 2018. Once the US Supreme Court struck down PASPA, Delaware was uniquely positioned to be first to the sports betting market because of a tabled, but not repealed, 2009 sports betting bill.

Online Sports Betting Reviews

Where can I place a sports bet in Delaware?

Currently, there are only three places to place a bet in Delaware. Bets can be placed live and in person at the following locations:

Online Sports Betting Delaware Lottery

• Delaware Park Casino
• Dover Downs Hotel and Casino
• Harrington Raceway and Casino

Can I place sports bets online in Delaware?

Currently, no. Delaware has said it wants its three casinos to get used to offer full-scale sports wagers before it allows operators to enter the online market.

What sports can I bet on in Delaware?

Bets in Delaware are accepted for all professional sports, and most collegiate sports.

What types of bets can I make in Delaware?

Delaware sports betting operators offer many options for wagers, including:

• Parlays
• Over/under
• Moneyline
• Props
• Straight wagers
• Futures
• Teasers

Online Sports Betting In Delaware

Who regulates and oversees sports betting in Delaware?

The Delaware Lottery regulates sports betting in Delaware.

Delaware Football Betting

Given that both DFS and sports betting are legal in Delaware, will we see any hybrid games offered in the near future?

Unlike in New Jersey, where Resorts and DraftKings are partners, and The FanDuel Group is aligned with Meadowlands Racetrack for sports betting, we haven’t yet seen the two worlds collide in Delaware.

Since there is no current framework in place for mobile or online sports betting in Delaware, dreaming about sports betting-DFS hybrid products is putting the cart before the horse. We believe online sports betting is in Delaware’s future. Although Delaware and its lawmakers acted quickly to get sports betting live, they don’t appear to be in any rush to get mobile sports betting up and running.

Stay tuned to RotoGrinders for news and updates about Delaware online sports betting!